Here in the video:
What Odermatt and his fans love about the World Championships
Marco Odermatt goes into Friday's super-G race as the big favorite. Above all, his two gold medals at home will take a lot of pressure off the Swiss racer's shoulders. Many of his compatriots have followed him to Saalbach and want to shout him to the title. The "Krone" asked around a bit among the Swiss.
This gold is still missing! Olympic and world champion in the giant slalom, World Championship title in the downhill - but Marco Odermatt has yet to win gold in the super-G. In Courchevel and Méribel in 2023, he was just 0.11 seconds behind the podium. In the end, he was 0.37 seconds behind winner James Crawford. "Which gold medal I would go home with so that I'm satisfied - that's not what matters to me," says the Swiss dominator. "Besides, the downhill is the supreme discipline. And luckily I already have this gold in the bag."
It is undisputed that the 27-year-old is the big favorite going into today's race. There have been five races so far this season. Odermatt has celebrated victory twice, finished third once and also came fifth and seventh. But the Swiss is not about to let the statistics fool him.
Statistics mean nothing
"As an athlete, you start from scratch in every race. It doesn't matter whether you've won five races in a row or even dropped out five times. The chance is the same for everyone at the start. But of course, the season so far has given me a lot of confidence."
Nevertheless, he doesn't feel any pressure, even though all eyes will be on him in particular. "In Saalbach, it's a World Championships that I can enjoy more than the previous ones because I already have two gold medals at home. That makes it a bit easier for me."
And after the downhill training sessions, he already knows the piste. "It's beautiful to ski on cool snow. Just like in the downhill, you have to hit the turns really well and keep the speed up."
It's nice to feel the euphoria here in Austria. We have also prepared ourselves for the fact that it will be a World Championships with lots of fans.
Marco Odermatt
With his centrally located hotel in the middle of town near the "Medal Plaza", Odermatt is naturally aware of the fans' hype. "It's nice to feel the euphoria here in Austria. We have also prepared ourselves for the fact that it will be a World Cup with lots of fans, all the trappings and lots of emotion." However, there is one but: "Of course, it's not easy to get from the hotel to the cable car." What he also likes: "That you have fans in all countries."
In any case, the duel with the Swiss fans clearly went to the Austrians on Thursday. Because with Stephie Venier's gold medal, red-white-red had an easy time of it. Even the sign of some young Swiss fans didn't help, as it read: "The Swiss B team is better than Austria's A team". You can see it that way. However, the result in the women's competition clearly spoke a different language.
However, the Swiss also celebrated the Austrian victory. A group from Lucerne, who were guests at a World Ski Championships for the first time, made this clear the morning before the race. "We're celebrating either way - no matter who wins. Of course we would prefer a Swiss victory. But we would also grant it to the Austrians," they said with a grin on their faces.
Odermatt Edel fan Rudi Rot from the Swiss dominator's home town had a very different opinion. Dressed all in red, true to style and in keeping with his name, he marched towards the stadium singing. "Fingers crossed for my Swiss team, of course. But I wouldn't be quite so sad if the Austrians were to win something." Hopefully the Swiss blank and the complete success of Austria didn't hit him too hard.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
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